Nadine Alex: 2017

In christmas, lifestyle

Favourite Christmas Films

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, by Nadine Alex

In christmas, lifestyle

Favourite Christmas Songs

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, by Nadine Alex

In christmas, lifestyle

Moments that Make Christmas the Best

Hey guys!

So its officially a week to Christmas, ahhhh!!! Here is what I believe makes Christmas the best.

1. Taking the Christmas decorations out of the attic and decorating the Christmas tree with baubles that have a meaning and putting the Angel up which my Nan got me when I was a baby.
2. Eating a box of Celebrations and Heroes early in the morning and not giving a damn.
3. Not having the main lights on around the house yet having all fairy lights on - the spotlights of blue, purple, green and red still have me gazing in delight.
4. Playing constant Christmas songs as soon as it hits December 1st. - make sure to keep your eyes peeled for my Top Christmas Songs.
5. Advent calendars... who can say no to chocolate? Especially with a hot cuppa on these chilly mornings.
6. Non stop Christmas films - make sure to keep your eyes peeled for my Top Christmas Films
7. Instagramming all the cute and Christmassy decorations - from the tree, to baubles to family nights in.
8. Changing your bedding on Christmas Eve and putting on some new festive PJ's - Like come on putting fresh bedding and fresh PJ's is always the best (especially after a night out of drinking excessively) but there's that extra feeling of happiness when you do it on Christmas Eve.
9. Seeing all the Christmas adverts - from John Lewis, Debnhams, Sainsburys, Boots to Marks and Spencers. But also this year ITV and BBC have pulled it out of the bag too. But I have got to say I do still love the Sainsburys advert from 2014 with the army and John Lewis' 2013 with the bear & hare and their 2015 advert with the man on the moon. *UPDATE - And omg I am loving the Sky Cinema Christmas advert with the mother and daughter and their traditional watching of Sound of The Music.*
10. Coca Cola truck is HERE and so is the advert.
11. Going to your city's lights switch on and christmas markets.
12. Strolling up and down the Christmas aisle in all the supermarkets when doing your weekly shop and falling for all the deals including the Terry's Chocolate Orange.
13. Full fridge + constant cuppas + central heating + candles lit = BONUS.
14. Waking up on Christmas Day at 6am and being sent back to bed.
15. Then waking up at 10am to a bacon butty and a cuppa before opening the presents.
16...Then going back into the kitchen no more than 2 hours later to be hit by the smell of roast potatoes and the turkey.
17. Not being able to see the floor for a good few hours because of the mountain of wrapping paper.

Nadine Alex x

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, by Nadine Alex

In lifestyle,

TV Shows & Films I Have Been Loving

Hey guys,

So there has been a lot of really good TV and film shows lately and binge watching an entire show is one of my favourite things to do.

1. Doctor Foster

Yes...I am late getting into this show. I seen the second season getting advertised but thought it was too late to get into it. But then I came across the first season on Netflix. It is about a Doctor who believes her husband is cheating and therefore finds out more about her life.

2. The Notebook

This one of my favourite films ever, it's such a beautiful romance story. It is beautifully portrayed by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. It is based on Nicholas Sparks book and is about a young couple who fall in love in the 1940s. However, the boy, Noah, is a mill worker whereas the girl, Allie, is rich, therefore her parents don't approve.

3. 13 Going on 30

I've only just seen this film on Netflix and oh my goodness it's so good. It is about a 13 year old girl, Jenna, who is sick of high school and prays to become "30, flirty and thriving." Her dream becomes a reality and realises she isn't ready for it.

4. Power

Okay...this came out in 2014 but I've only just gotten around to watching it. I completely binge watched all of the seasons and so excited for the next season next year. Its about gangsters and drugs. At times it can be grimy but it is so good. The producer and one of the actor's is 50 Cent and is based on a nightclub owner who has everything; a wife, kids, a penthouse, club owner and power. However, he lives on the edge with his own drug empire.

5. 10 Things I Hate About You

This will always be one of my favourites. I used to be obsessed with Heath Ledger when I was a kid and I loved Julia Stiles in Save the Last Dance. Its about a teenage girl, Kat, is quite abrasive compared to other teenagers, which leads to everyone being scared of her. Her younger sister isn't allowed to date until Kat starts dating. This results to her sister pulling strings to get Kat a boyfriend.

6. Riverdale

This is currently one of my favourite Netflix series. It's hard to explain this show, but its about a mystery of a missing/dead popular high school student. It's easily become one of my favourite series; theres currently 2 seasons and they release an episode every Thursday.

7. Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments

I've just finished getting up-to-date on this action filled Netflix original. It is based on the popular film, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, which is based on books by Cassandra Clare. It is about a girl, Clary, who once turns 18 and discovers her life was a lie/secret. She comes from a long line of human-angel hybrids, called Shadowhunters, who protect humans and hunt down demons. Her mother is kidnapped before she could be told the truth about her life so is therefore thrown into this crazy world. It is filled with creatures such as; vampires, werewolves and warlocks.

8. The Sinner

I wasn't sure whether or not to include this as I am only a few episodes in but I am thoroughly enjoying this thriller. It starts with a young mother, Cora, and she seems emotional distressed and when she goes to the beach with her family she decides to drown herself; however fails. A while later (still on the beach) she sees some lad and out of nowhere she publicly stabs him to death, with no explanation as to why. It's an 8 episode series in which the detectives try and work out why she did what she did and try and dig into her past. Cora is played fantastically by Jessica Biel.

9. Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past

I watched this film years ago and completely forgotten about it, to be honest. However, it has just been recently added to Netflix and I have watched it several times, so it needs to be added to this list. It is about a photographer called Connor who doesn't do commitment but just has numerous relationships with multiple girls. He receives a visit from 3 ghosts; past, present and future, who take him on an adventure through his failed relationship to help him ind out what made him become the man he is and helping him find hope for true love.

10. Star Wars

Okay...I am a massive nerd when it comes to Star Wars, especially when I was a child. I changed my surname, so I was married to Anakin Skywalker and then my second word was JarJar and I had the JarJar Binks backpack. I'm still a huge fan now and decided to involve this in this list as the next movie comes out in 2 days. Eeeek so exciting...

Nadine Alex x

______________________________________________________________________________________

Treat yourself over at Coconut Lane - www.coconut-lane.com

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, by Nadine Alex

In lifestyle, student

How I'm Actually Feeling...

Hey guys,

So this is taking a lot of courage to write the post, I know I'm gonna struggle to actually explain but hopefully, you'll understand. This is something really personal.

As some of you may (or may not) know I am the eldest of 7 kids (3 brothers and 3 sisters), my dad works away and comes home on a Friday late afternoon and goes back on a Monday morning and my mum has a 9am til 6pm job. During primary school, I used to be really active fully enjoying Taekwondo, Football and Cheerleading. When I reached high school there wasn't really any football opportunities so this fizzled out and due to commitments to work and Cheerleading competitions I gave Taekwondo up. However, when I reached Year 8/Year 9 my interest in Cheerleading started to fizzle out. I'm not entirely sure what triggered this off, whether it was GCSE's approaching and wanting to socialise with my school friends more often. But one factor I do know triggered it was the fact my mum and dad were too busy to stay for some training classes and out of many, many of my competitions they only ever turned up to 2 competitions. When you reach high school, you start thinking more of yourself and confidence and my self-esteem was getting pretty low due to looking around the competition room and seeing lots of families and friends cheering on the dancers and realising that I knew anyone. I know it was a sport that I should enjoy for myself but obviously, you want to share the experience with people your close to. Don't you?!

In addition, when I started high school I felt more of a responsibility at home (due to it being just being my mum with 7 kids) which included; making the tea, doing the packed lunches, the washing machine and dryer. I don't know what caused (excluding the new hormone changes) but me and my mum used to always argue constantly after school and before school. It got to the point where I couldn't focus in school and I would come into school crying and was always in my Head of Year and the Wellbeing's office and my Form Tutor would take me out of form to ask me how I'm feeling and what the argument was about. When I speak to my friends they have such a close relationship with their parents and I would always feel left out. I even struggled to tell my mum when I had first started my period. It did get to a point where I would purposely throw myself off my bunk bed, pinch my arms until I had marks and it got to a point where when I fell off the bed I ended up with a carpet burn surrounding my eye. That made me stop doing that to myself! I know it's not their fault because she has 7 kids and doesn't have my dad during the week, so I had my own flaws and could have helped out a lot more. Also, I did used to ask for so many lifts to places which wasn't needed. I was just being lazy!

When I reached college/sixth form I put all my effort and energy into getting the best results as I could. Then it came to applying for university or apprenticeship. My mum and dad believed an apprenticeship was the best choice as they have quite good jobs without that degree. So until a few weeks before university started I was choosing apprenticeship until I had that change of heart. I would still pick the same choice now! During school I would always get that knock during school as for a year I fell out with my best friends (luckily were best friends again now, even closer tbh and if that didn't happen we wouldn't have made friends with our other best friends). Also, when it came to Awards Evening my mum and dad would show up, Parents Evening my mum would show up (even though she believed she didn't need to) but when it came to picking GCSE's and A-Level results up I would be by myself in a ball of nerves. Even Prom and Ladies Day I had to celebrate and get dolled up without them (which I do understand was no fault to them due to work commitments). It was just really difficult when my best friends parents would turn up and take picture and flaunt off their girls and when the mum's would ask where my parents was and if they wanted themselves to take a picture of myself. I did feel bad on my parents as they didn't mean it and my mum was suppose to celebrate Prom with me but my friends had a change of plans which didn't suit my mum.

Me and my mum have got much closer as we are both massive Liverpool FC fans so we have that in common to talk about and we will watch the same TV programmes together and we have similar tastes in music. I've just bought her The Script tickets for her birthday as The Script and Olly Murs are they acts we HAVE to see! However, we still aren't very close as sometimes I don't feel very confident in opening up in things as I get very shy easily and she gets too excited to share things with my auntie and cousins. And also we struggle to have a 1 on 1 because of the amount of kids. Due to me working on weekends, or her football commitments (Liverpool FC or my brothers) we have never been able to shopping trips or go for a meal or cocktails and just have a girly day. I'm always saying to her about good cocktail deals and spa day, but it never happens. Even my auntie has mentioned it and said that her and my cousin could tag along.I also have to go the doctors by myself which is quite regularly as I suffer daily with fatigue, no 'get-up and go' energy and migraines and stomach pains which are very painful which stops me from doing daily acitivites. There's been times where I've spoken and dated boys where I could have told her but never had the chance so she now believes I have never kissed a boy before ahah! I always feel like correcting her but I always run out of that opportunity and would rather tell her when there are no one surrounding us and I know she'd tell everyone before the day ends. I know that shows excitement but I'm not really a fan of that as I'm quite shy and secretive. I've told her a few times about my blog but I don't think she remembers. In addition, I have become very low in confidence over my body I know I'm not fat but in the last few months I have put the weight on, in particular; my face, thighs and stomach. I go the gym and have DVD exercises but my mum and dad will never be short of letting me know about the weight gain or how many spots I have recently got on my face.

For the past year or 2 my health has really impacted my life. No matter how long I've slept for (6-10 hours) I will still wake up really tired and would have no motivation or energy for the whole day. I'll sometimes be that tired and drained I have to put myself to bed for a nap. I can literally sleep through my alarms so just to wake myself up I have to set about 4 alarms. Even on days off I have to set alarms otherwise I will still be asleep at noon or even 1pm. Since being more fatigue my migrianes have started to become daily, with some days being minor and the odd day where it's severe where I cannot get out of bed. Since starting university again, I'll wake up and already be stressed with a massive to-do list and I'll be working out where I need to be for what time and what time I need to be home for to carry on with chores. During the summer, I was out of pattern due to finishing uni for the summer and my work hours going from less than 12 hours to 30+ hours. And most of them shifts were night shifts, so I was losing my day and nights.

It got to the point where I was my best friends in the pub and I just broke down because even though I was with them enjoying myself in the back of my mind I felt lonely and invisible. Sometimes, I felt like when I spoke to them they would either blank what I had just said or they would completely change the topic or speak over me. I know we are all bad for doing it, but I felt it was more towards me. I also felt out of the loop with gossip because they always Facetime and message each other daily whereas it's a shock when I get an incoming Facetime. Whilst we were in the pub my best friends mentioned how I had excluded myself from the group and one of the girls was talking about her mum and she had said I didn't even make a comment (which sounds like I was being rude). I did in fact make a comment about her mum but she said she never heard me, which I said that was my point. The girls also thought I was more friendly and happier with uni girls. But I just explained uni is only a few hours a day and they don't know my life aswell as my best friends. So it's a bit like a mask and an escape. In the end, they understood and they've been so supportive towards me and always ask me how I'm feeling and they'll always message and we will make more plans to meet up for catch ups.

Currently, I am feeling still quite low in body confidence and self-esteem but I do know this will take time. I have changed to a healthier diet and more exercise are helping physically and mentally. I follow quite a lot of inspirational pages so when I wake up and check my social media I will across quite a few quotes on Facebook and Instagram. Also, I have become very invested into photography, especially with nature and sunsets. I have also cut back on my hours in work to less than 12 hours (mainly due to uni work.) But I feel so much happier with my best friends and confident in sharing how I'm actually feeling. My family situation won't change and I'm used to that now. I'm 20 years old and the youngest is 10 so hormones are raging through the household. 2 brothers are 15 and 16 so they clash a lot and have their own problems with one of them suffering from really bad anger problems. I just share my news and gossip with my friends. It won't be long until I either move into a flat of my own or I decided to go travelling and work abroad. I'm still deciding. My migraines, tiredness and stomach pains are still a problem with me having regular visits to the doctors. I go the doctors for them to tell me the same thing, which stresses me out and annoys me so much. My migraine tablets don't even work which is even more annoying. I have tried a food and sleep diary and they have cancelled them out as triggers.

Nadine Alex x

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In beauty, lifestyle

My Tanning Essentials

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, by Nadine Alex

In student,

Deciding on my Dissertation Topic

Hey guys,

So I'm not gonna lie but up until a few months ago I didn't have a clue on what a dissertation was and up until @KimberelyJessica messaged me in April about what topic I was going to do, I hadn't heard of our course doing a dissertation. How stupid, I know. Since then, it has been non-stop on my mind as want to ensure I make the right decision on my topic as I will be spending at least 6 months on it so I have to make sure I don't get bored. These last 2 months I've had to take into serious consideration when researching what I'm going to do and how I'm going to keep it interesting. My end goal is to graduate with a high 2.1 or even a 1st. Which would be insane!

So to help me begin I decided I was gonna brainstorm each topic I had previously studied in my first and second years and what I found interesting and boring in each one. I then narrowed it down to Outdoor Play and how pioneers establish outdoor play and a child's development. In first year I found this quite boring and therefore didn't choose to develop this further into second year. However, during placement I found it quite easy to pick up and was pinpointing pioneers that I had learnt from the first year. It's incredible what you pick up and don't realise, ahaha. Last year I did a month's placement situated in the Reception stage in a Primary School and thoroughly enjoyed it so I am debating to continue this on but in another school to develop my CV further. However, for third year, placement has got to be every Tuesday from October to March.

I have also got to find enough secondary research on Outdoor play to back up my evidence. I have got to find a significant amount to make my dissertation reach the word count and make sure I don't repeat and make it boring. Heavy!! I have gone onto the University's eLibrary which contains thousands of Journals, Articles, Books and eBooks and found quite a lot of useful research relating to the same age, which is so helpful. In addition, the pioneers come under Psychology which can broaden my research in more depth ad understanding. This is due to psychology being a daily reoccurrence in everyday lives, especially in schools.

Some tips that helped me decide on my topic was:

1. Don't follow the crowd but follow what your most interested in - In first year I was not interested in pioneers and used to just sit in the lectures on my phone not interested at all. But in second year I started placement and when the children were playing outside the pionners and theories just jumped out at me and I realised how important it actually was on promoting the children's development.

2. Make sure your topic is narrow - Can your topic be dividied into shorter and different topics? You've got to make sure the research relates back to your chosen topic title and that you will not end up going off track and onto another subject. Yoou've got to ensure you can go into full detail and depth when evaluating the topic to ensure you get the highest maks.

3. Research, research, research - I have learnt from the past 2 years that research and doing wider reading is a key essential in finding out key information and it will help me develop my grades further. When I started to take my dissertation into consideration I had to take into consideration background research as some topics have more research compared to other topics. These past 2 weeks in uni I have thought a topic surrounding prisoner's children is quite interesting. However, looking into research there is hardly any information and my lecturer pinpointed that it would be difficult to conduct my own research. Therefore, I am just going to leave prisoner's childrent o another asssignment.

Have you got any more tips that can help me with writing my dissertation?

Nadine Alex x

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In adventure, lifestyle

My Travel Bucketlist

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, by Nadine Alex

In beauty, skincare

Makeup Mistakes you Don't Realise you are Making

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, by Nadine Alex

In lifestyle, student

My Top Favourite Films

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, by Nadine Alex

In lifestyle, tag

TAG: 50 Questions You've Never Been Asked

Hey guys,
So I'm back with another tag...its been so long. Well this tag is quite long so lets just jump straight into it.

1. What is your favourite candle scent?

I am obsessed with vanilla scented candles. I have also just came across a pineapple & guava scent from Primark and omg I am in love...for any Malibu and Pineapple lovers out there go get your hands on one.

2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister?

It would have to be Lucy Hale or Selena Gomez for definite.

3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother?

hmmm... I would say Seth Rogen as he is hilarious.

4. How old do you think you'll be when you get married?

Well when I was younger I used to say I'd be settled down by 23 but I'm 20 now so think I'd say about 25/26.

5. Do you know a hoarder?

Yeah me ahah.

6. Can you do the splits?

I used to be able to but unfortunately not anymore.

7. How old were you when you first learned to ride a bike?

Let me check... with stabilisers it was 2 and without stabilisers I was either 4 or 5.

8. How many oceans have you swam in?

I don't know but not many. I'm not really a fan of the ocean due to a big phobia of sharks.

9. How many countries have you visited?

Erm...Spain, Wales, France, Cyprus, Netherlands, Ireland, Tunisia, Egypt, Canary Islands ... I'm not too sure what else but sure there is more.

10. Is anyone in your family in the army?

Nope.

11. What would you name your daughter if you had one?

I love the names; Lexie, Lily, Isabelle, Mia, Olivia, Piper or Maddison...hahah I need to shorten that down.

12. What would you name your son if you had one?

I love the names; Noah, Liam, Mason, James, Connor, Ben or Charlie...that also needs shortening down ahah.

13. What's the worst grade you've got in a test?

I think it was a D in the mini science and language tests, ahah. But don't worry I finally got them up to an overall BC in Science and C in languages.

14. What was your favourite TV show as a kid?

Suite Life of Zac and Cody by far.

15. What did you dress up for Halloween when you were 8?

I think it was a witch.

16. Have your read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series?

I did used to be a big fan of Harry Potter years ago but only the films not the books. But I have read the Twilight books.

17. Would you rather have an American accent or a British one?

British. I love a northern accent. I have a fake (plastic) scouse accent.

18. Did your mother/father go to university?

Nope I'm the first.

19. Are your grandparents still married?

Yeahh.

20. Have you ever taken karate lessons?

Nopee, I did do Taekwondo which is quite similar but Karate focuses on hand strikes whereas Taekwondo focuses on kicking techniques.

21. Do you know who kermit the frog is?

Yeahh.

22. What was the first amusement park you went to?

I think it was Gullivers World.

23. What language beside your native language would you like to be fluent in?

I think I would like to speak Spanish. I did used to enjoy Spanish lessons during school but didn't carry it on.

24. Do you spell the colour as grey or gray?

Grey.

25. Is your father bald?

Yeahh, not like shiny bald though.

26. Do you know any triplets?

Nopee.

27. Do you prefer Titanic or The Notebook?

That's a tough one but it has to be The Notebook.

28. Have you ever had Indian food?

Nopee, I have meant to but haven't had the chance yet.

29. What's the name of your favourite restaurant?

Chimichangas or Wildwood Kitchen or obviously Wetherspoons.

30. Have you ever been to Nandos?

Yeahh I love it.

31. Do you belong to any warehouse stores? (e.g. Costco etc)

Nopee.

32. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender?

Daniel or James.

33. If you have a nickname what is it?

Nads.

34. Who's your favourite person in the world?

Oh god thats a tough one, don't think I can name one.

35. Would you rather live in the countryside or the city?

Sometimes I do think the countryside would be lovely but it would have to be the city.

36. Can you whistle?

Unfortunately not.

37. Do you sleep a nightlight?

Nopee.

38. Do you eat breakfast every morning?

Yeahh.

39. Do you take any pills or medication daily?

Just vitamins and folic acid and I take migraine tablets regularly.
40. What medical conditions do you have?

I'm anaemic and I suffer with migraines quite regularly and my vitamins can be low quite a bit.
41. How many times have you been to hospital?
I'm not too sure, too many times. It's practically my 2nd home.

42. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo?

Yeahh.

43. Where do you buy your jeans?

New Look, Pretty Little Thing, Next or MissGuided.

44. What's the last compliment you got?

About an hour ago, I got a text ago saying about my little beauty smile.

45. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning?

I don't dream but on the odd occasion when I do dream, I do remember.

46. What flavour tea do you enjoy?

Just normal with milk.

47. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own?

Erm...between 12 and 16.

48. What religion will you raise your children to practice?

I was raised Catholic Christian but I'm not strict or very convinced by it all so I wouldn't force any religion on my children until they were old enough to understand and decide for themselves.

49. How old were you when you found out Santa wasn't real?

I think I was about 9 or 10 years old.

50. Why do you have a blog?

I love connecting with people from all over the world who have the same passions as me and I like to be able to write freely about how I feel or passionate about.

Nadine Alex x

______________________________________________________________________________________

Treat yourself over at Coconut Lane - www.coconut-lane.com

Use the code 'nadinealex20' at the checkout for 20% off

______________________________________________________________________________________

Twitter: @beauty7products

Instagram: @nadineealex_97

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, by Nadine Alex

Pages

Favourite Christmas Films

Favourite Christmas Songs

Moments that Make Christmas the Best

TV Shows & Films I Have Been Loving

How I'm Actually Feeling...

My Tanning Essentials

Deciding on my Dissertation Topic

My Travel Bucketlist

Makeup Mistakes you Don't Realise you are Making

My Top Favourite Films

TAG: 50 Questions You've Never Been Asked

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